Boulder's Fairview High brothers skiing across the world

Casey and Jesse Andringa head to world, national skiing championships

Fairview junior Casey Andringa, 17, will compete at the FIS Freestyle Junior World Championships in Valmalenco, Italy, Tuesday through Sunday. His younger brother and Fairview freshman Jesse Andringa, 15, will compete at the 2013 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships in Lake Tahoe, Calif., Friday through Sunday.

The overlap between the boys' two competitions means their parents will spend time flipping back and forth between livestreams and websites for both competitions, checking on their sons' results.

The boys' mother, Pam Andringa, will accompany younger son Jesse to California, while dad Jeff Andringa will stay at home to keep tabs on everyone.

Casey Andringa skis at Copper Mountain during the 2013 U.S. Ski team selections. Andringa, a Fairview High junior, will compete at the world junior freestyle championships this weekend in Italy. (Courtesy photo/Jeff Andringa.)

Casey Andringa began the long trip to Italy on Friday. He competes in moguls on Wednesday and dual moguls on Saturday.

The 17-year-old finished the fall semester on campus at Fairview, and then moved to Winter Park to train, where he takes mostly online classes through the school. He was invited to the world championships based on his scores from competitions this season; the top four men and women in the junior division, which is capped at age 20, were selected to compete.

"It's a great honor to get invited to this," Casey Andringa said. "I knew that it was a possibility, but I didn't know if I was going to get invited. It's a great summary to my season."

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Younger brother Jesse, who often trains with his brother at Winter Park on weekends, still attends classes on campus at Fairview. He'll compete at the national championships in moguls on Friday and dual moguls on Sunday at Heavenly Mountain Resort -- next to Olympic gold medallist Hannah Kearney, Olympic bronze medallist Bryon Wilson and World Champion Patrick Deneen.

"It's a great opportunity and I'm competing against the best athletes in the nation, and possibly in the world," Jesse Andringa said.

Jesse Andringa, a Fairview High freshman, skis at Aspen. Andringa will compete at U.S. freestyle nationals this week in Lake Tahoe, Calif. (Courtesy photo/Jeff Andringa. )

Both Andringa brothers said they'll be emailing back and forth with Dad to check on the other's progress.

They grew up skiing together, starting when each was around 18-months-old, dad Jeff Andringa said. When it came time to choose between hockey and skiing in middle school, the vote was unanimously in favor of skiing, he said.

While Casey trains in Winter Park during the winters, younger brother Jesse "begs" his parents to drive him up so they can ski together, Jeff Andringa said.

"There's definitely an idol factor, (Jesse) really looks up to his brother I think," Jeff Andringa said. "Together they make a great team. They complement each other well."

Casey Andringa has plans to ski full time after high school, while keeping a possible career in graphic design on the back burner. His parents are OK with that, Jeff Andringa said, because they want their sons to have time to explore before deciding on a career. Jeff Andringa said they've been advocating for Casey to apply to colleges and defer admission for a few years while he pursues skiing.

But he has a while to figure out his post-Fairview plans. For now, Casey Andringa said he's hoping to see how he stacks up against international skiers while in Italy this week.

"It's a great stepping stone to see where I sit compared to other kids my age across the world," he said. "At this point I don't have any expectations. I hope to go and lay down the best runs I can, that's all you can hope for."

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